Many folks are looking at their trees and thinking it’s time to prune. If you feel this urge–don’t succumb to temptation!
I don’t recommend structural pruning for deciduous trees until after the summer solstice (and ideally after the first frost), when the days begin to get shorter, allowing temperate plants in the northern hemisphere to prepare for dormancy due to light availability. If you’re in a temperate climate in the southern hemisphere, the autumnal equinox to the spring equinox is the time to prune (now until mid-September).
For those of us in the northern hemisphere, this time of year is crucial for deciduous trees. They need to make enough sugar to seal their wounds from last year, prepare for an incoming scorching summer, defend against pests and pathogens, AND produce fruit. Instead of pruning right now, water and monitor!
A general rule of thumb for watering trees (even established ones!) is to follow 1 inch in diameter (at breast height) = 5-10 (or more) gallons of water per week, depending on species, climate, soil type, etc.
If you measure your tree with a soft measuring tape, it will only measure circumference; divide by pi (3.142) to get the diameter. If your tree is 10 inches in circumference, then your diameter will be a little over 3 inches. This would mean that your tree needs at least 15 gallons of water per week.
Make sure to water the roots all the way to the dripline–don’t water the trunk or focusing on watering the lawn.
Even though this amount of water per week may seem like a lot, humans need to consume about a gallon of water per day; about 7 gallons for a whole week. Trees are larger than us and don’t need much aside from a little extra water and specialized care occasionally.
Remember, reducing tree stress increases tree success for future seasons! Healthy trees build healthy lives.
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There are two live webinars for free ISA CEUs available this week.
Thursday, March 26
Cross Department Collaboration – Serving Together with Shared Vision @ 10:00am Mountain
Join us for a special planning workshop with ICLEI where we’ll share a tool to facilitate cross department collaboration and help build consensus with our partners in urban forestry and the spaces we share in our cities. Plus, we’ll present a case study from New Orleans, LA focused on how they’re applying cross department collaboration to resolve conflict with their state department of transportation.
Friday, March 27
Reaching Canopy Goals Require More Than Just “Planting” @ 10:00am Mountain
Among the common factors affecting the survival of newly planted trees, under-watering and over-watering are the top two. Providing water to newly planted trees for the first 2-5 years is critical for their survival and growth to receive the benefits and return on investment. We all have seen and probably participated in one of the tree planting projects “Million Trees XYZ City” in the spring on exactly one of two days: Earth Day or Arbor Day. It is a great photo opportunity for politicians, but how about following up with watering on the hot summer days and/or during droughts! Trees die. Next spring will bring a new round of tree-planting projects, sometimes at the exact same locations.
One thing that proves this is that you can easily find your local political leaders in news reports for tree-planting events in the spring, but you cannot find a photo of them watering trees in the summer.
Is there anything we can do to give trees a better chance to survive? By examining the situation and looking at the root of the problem, the real limitation is in the Plant Available Water (PAW). No matter how much one irrigates the soil or how much rainwater falls onto it, any water above the Field Capacity (FC) is wasted. We will review some technologies for stabilizing soil moisture, including methods that significantly boost the PAW without drowning the plant roots. We also review methods and technologies that make the best use of natural precipitation (stormwater) and the water that is otherwise wasted. Case studies across North America will be used to illustrate how these methods can significantly increase the survival rate of newly planted and transplanted trees and significantly reduce the cost of watering by 90% or more
On-Demand CEUs
Arbsession Training Videos
Forestry Webinars
The Webinar Portal, a product of Southern Regional Extension Forestry (SREF) and winner of the 2011 USDA Forest Service’s Two Chiefs’ Partnership Award, is a “multi discipline” web platform used to promote and deliver live and on-demand virtual events and webinars focused on forestry, agriculture, conservation, climate science and other natural resource disciplines.
TreeStuff Webinars on YouTube
Watch a video and pass the quiz to qualify for free ISA CEUs.
Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA)
Introduction to Arboriculture Safety (1.25 ISA CEUs)
In this program, you will learn about general tree care safety so that you can avoid accidents while working in the field.
Susan Harwood Grant program OSHA Trainings (Up to 5 ISA CEUs)
Remember, you can always ask your local ISA chapter if your event qualifies for CEUs.
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Abbott Botanical Assessments, LLC 